1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a machine for uniformly orienting asymmetric objects, and more particularly, to a machine for uniformly orienting shafts with dissimilar ends. The invention further relates to a method for uniformly orienting shafts with dissimilar ends.
2. Description of the Related Art
A screwdriver blade comprises a shaft of metal, with one end of the shaft containing an operational feature while the other of the shaft is blunt. Examples of operational features include a point with a cross-shaped slot (a Phillips head) or a flat blade. If the screwdriver blade shaft has a circular cross-section, the screwdriver blade may also have two small protuberances near the blunt end of the shaft that are known as wings. After the screwdriver blade is attached to a handle, the wings will prevent the screwdriver blade from rotating relative to the screwdriver handle when torque is applied to the handle. Wings may not be needed if the shaft has a non-circular, for example a hexagonal, cross-section.
In the manufacture of screwdrivers, screwdriver blades are attached to the handle in an automatic assembly machine. Before the screwdriver blades are input into the automatic assembly machine, all of the blades must be oriented in the same direction. Screwdriver blades are oriented in the same direction if, when the screwdriver blades are placed so that the shafts of the blades are parallel to each other, the operational ends of the screwdriver blades are pointing in the same direction. Unfortunately, the manufacturing processes preceding the automatic assembly machine leave the screwdriver blades randomly oriented. Currently, the screwdriver blades must be oriented by hand. This manual orientation procedure is slow and labor-intensive. In a high volume manufacturing line, the process of manually orienting screwdriver blades requires the full time attention of several operators.
What is desired, therefore, is an apparatus and a method that will uniformly orient, with a minimum of human labor, screwdriver blades or any other shaft which contains an operational feature on one end and is blunt on the other end.